In this edition of The Gift, we’re stopping to smell the roses with a few floral gifts we love—including a dainty ring and a flowery … hammer? Plus: some very pretty Lego and excellent birthday gifts.
Last week, in anticipation of today, the first day of spring, my neighbor’s snowdrops emerged as they always do, in the extra-damp spot under their hose. Winter in Maine really was over. We’d made it, once again.
As buoyed as I was, I had to admit spring’s first blooms weren’t actually so monumental. Like my mother and grandmother before her, I surround myself year-round in all things floral. I sleep in floral sheets, bedeck in floral prints, sip from floral mugs. Maybe it’s a survival mechanism here in the Northeast. But it’s a strategy I like to pass along, especially in my gift giving.
Many of my favorite gifts are blooms and blossoms, because they’re cheery, go with everything, and have a timeless appeal. Whatever birthday, wedding shower, or just-because event awaits you this season … here are some of my favorite floral-inspired delights:
- These solid gold birth flower rings, which are cast as blooms representing birth months—and finished with a fleck of a birthstone in the center—are just lovely. A few years ago, in a moment of gratitude for the indispensability of female companionship, a pal and I went on a mission for non-cheesy friendship rings. We settled on these; they are a beautiful memento of our relationship without being too on-the-nose.
- These hand-dyed bamboo tube socks, pigmented with petals and blooms, are another excellent find. I have the pink ones, and although they’ve faded slightly over the years—I did not heed the cold wash, line dry instructions— there is no outfit they don’t go with, and no eye they fail to catch.
- My colleague, senior updates writer Sri Rain Stewart, recently bought herself this flower watercolor notebook at a gift shop in Vermont. It’s pretty genius. On one side of the lay-flat notepad is a full-color sketch of a bloom—hydrangeas, pansies, tulips—with easy-to-follow coloring cues. On the other side is a pencil-light sketch to fill in as one sees fit, no directions. The results are frame-worthy creations. It would be a lovely gift for an anthophile or a blooming artist, alongside a set of our favorite watercolors.
- Two very unexpected floral finds: This lacquered flower-print hammer, which my stepdad gave me when I graduated college, made exactly zero impression at the time. It’s tough to impress a 22-year-old gal with a hammer. But to this day, my family uses it almost weekly. The handle unscrews, matryoshka style, to reveal four screwdrivers, a regular and mini Phillips and flathead. Second: In Miami, my friend’s son’s dandelion-print driver cover is a big hit on the golf course.
- And for the kids: This tulip flatware set would make a great baby gift for new and anticipated arrivals. (No one registers for baby silverware, but you need it!) My daughter, now seven, still requests her similarly petite cutlery to this day. She’s also obsessed with this floppy pen, which resembles a long-stemmed daisy. We got it in a goodie bag a few years back; feel free to steal the idea. And if you’re going to a birthday party, you can’t do better than wrapping up this watering can set and flower planting bundle.
It will be a while yet before all spring ephemerals pop up here in Portland. In the meantime, I’m seriously considering this floor-length floral-print raincoat. To be clear, I have a solid black shell already, and I absolutely don’t need it. But everything is better with blooms. Don’t you agree?
